Gate opening and closing device



June 23, 1936. A. E. SPOONER GATE OPENING AND CLOSING DEVICE Filed Nov.13, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /72 BER r E. Spoon/2 June 23, 1936. A.EJSPOONER GATE OPENING AND CLOSING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov.15, 1931 A4 952 r 5. SPOOA/[E Gum/M 5 I Patented June 23, 1936 UNITEDSTATES GATE' OPENING AND CLOSING DEVICE Albert Edward Spooner, Renfi'ew,Ontario, Canada;

Application November 13, 1931,v Serial No. 574,876

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic gate opening andclosing devices, the primary object being to provide a gate opening andclosing device that is automatically operable from either directioneliminating the necessity of disembarking from a vehicle either inopening or closing the gate.

A further object is to provide a gate opening and closing device that ismounted Wholly upon the supporting post of the gate thus eliminatingadditional weight upon the gate structure which in turn prevents unduesagging as is common with some types of gate openers.

A still further object is to provide a device that can be adapted to anytype or size of gate in that it does not require any specific gateconstruction, is very simple in operation, has no complicated parts orarrangement to get out of order and is economical to construct.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear as the descriptionproceeds, the invention consists in the design, construction andarrangement of parts as hereinafter more specifically set forth, claimedand shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this presentapplication and in which:-

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the general arrangement of the reversingbar, gate clip tension spring and other co-operating elements,

Fig. 2 is an end view showing the bearing clevis of the reversible barand the upwardly extending spring bar.

Fig. 3 is a side view of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a general perspective view showing one form of operatingmeans,

Fig. 5 is a general perspective view showing another form of operatingmeans,

Fig. 5A is a cross section of the post to which is secured the latchkeeper,

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the operating mechanism, as shownin Fig. 5.

Referring more in detail to the drawings in which similar charactersrepresent corresponding parts throughout the several views, it will beseen that the invention consists of a spring actuated reversing bar I!)pivotally mounted in a metal bearing clevis 13, which is supported onthe inner side of a supporting post II, at the top thereof, by means ofa bracket and bolts I2. A spring engaging bar l4 extends upwardly fromone end of the reversing bar l0, and attached to the upper end of thebar [4 is a laterally extending metal extension strap I5. A suitabletension spring It has one end attached to the free end of the strap I5and its opposite end connected to the upper member of the gate 18, at a.suitable distance from the supporting post I I, by means of a. clip I l.The gate. l8 hasits end post 5 pivotally mounted in the sleeves 6 at'the ends of rods 1, extending laterallyfrom the supporting 5 post II andcollars 8 secured on the post5, above the sleeves, by set screws 9,prevent the post 5 from sliding downwardly through the sleeves. A catchreleasing bar i9 is rigidly secured to the upper side of the reversingbar In, being slightly l curved'to overlie the member I3. The member l3has a bolt I3a mounted inone end which acts as a spacer and bufi'er forthe bar It). A suitable cable Ell extends from the free end of the barI9 having its opposite end connected to the 1'5 gate catch 2!. Thekeeper for holding the gate catch consists of a beveled edge plate 34secured on either side of a'post 35 while a spike 36 is relativelypositioned at. the other side, as shown in Fig. A.

The preferred form of operating mechanism for the reversing bar It] isshown generally in Fig. 5 and consists of arms 26 suitably positioned onopposite sides of the gate, adapted to be engaged by the wheel of avehicle traveling towards or from the gate. The arms 26 project throughslots formed by transverse members mounted on posts 28. The arms aredisposed on a horizontal plane and are pivotally mounted on posts 29,with their inner ends pivotally connected to the 30 ends of a transversepipe member 30. A bell crank lever 3|A is pivotally mounted on the postII, as at 34, thelower end of the lever being loosely pivoted to themember 30, by a pin and slot connection, while the upper end isbifurcated to operatively engage the extended portion of the reversingbar l0. The member 3| is suitably braced by the members 33,

This arrangement of the device operates by I having the vehicle wheelactuate forwardly or 40 rearwardly the bar 26, whence the member 30 ismoved accordingly while the bell crank lever 3IA actuates the reversingbar l9. As the outer end of the reversing bar passes centre, the springIt becomes tensioned, while the catch releasing bar I9 actuates thecable 26 to unlatch the gate catch 2| 'The reversing bar l0 upon passingcentre continues to swing by virtue of the tension spring l6 and thespring causes the gate to swing to an open position as shown by thedotted lines in Fig. 1. The closing action of the gate is substantiallythe same as described for the opening, the bars 26 being actuated in areverse manner.

A hand operating mechanism for the reversing bar I0 is shown in Fig. 4,consisting of two posts 2 23 suitably positioned in line with thesupporting post i l and at right angles to the gate. Pivotally mountedon the posts 23 are hand operated bars 22, the ends of each bar beingconnected together by rigidly strung wires 24, the lower of said wiresbeing connected with the member M by passing through orifices Ma. Thebars 22 are provided with handles 25 at their lower ends for manuallyswinging the bars on their pivots.

In operation, upon either of the bars 22 being moved forwardly orrearwardly the member I4 is accordingly actuated, thus operating thereversing bar to swing the gate to open or closed position.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatcertain changes in the shape, size and arrangement of the parts may bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope ofthe subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with avertical gate post having a gate pivotally connected thereto to swing ina horizontal plane, of a metal bearing clevis mounted on the inner sideof the gate post at the top thereof, a reversing bar pivotally mountedin said clevis on a horizontal plane, an upright arm at one end of saidreversing bar having an extension at its upper end extending at rightangles thereto, a tension spring having one end connected to theextension of the upright arm and its opposite end to the top bar of thegate approximately midway the length of the gate, and remote means foroperating said reversing bar.

2.,In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with avertical gate post having a gate pivotally connected thereto, to swingin a horizontal plane, of a metal bearing clevis mounted on the innerside of the gate post at the top thereof, a reversing bar pivotallymounted in said clevis on a horizontal plane, an upright arm at theouter end of said reversing bar having 5 an extension at its upper endextending at right angles thereto, a tension spring having one endconnected to the extension of the upright arm and its opposite end tothe top bar of the gate approximately midway the length of the gate, abell crank lever pivotally mounted on the inner side of the gate posthaving one end operatively engaged with the inner end of said reversingbar, a reciprocating rod connected intermediate its ends to the oppositeend of said bell crank lever, and remote means for actuating saidreciprocating bar.

3. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with avertical gate post having a gate pivotally connected thereto to swing ina horizontal plane, of a metal bearing clevis mounted on the inner sideof the gate post at the top thereof, said clevis consisting of a barbent upon itself to provide spaced parallel arms, a bolt extendingthrough the free ends of the clevis arms, a reversing bar extendingbetween the arms of the clevis and pivotally connected thereto to swingin a horizontal plane, an upright arm at one end of said reversing barhaving a curved extension at its upper end extending at right anglesthereto, a tension spring having one end connected to the free end ofthe extension of said upright arm and its opposite end to the top bar ofthe gate, a latch for securing the gate in a closed position, means forreleasing said latch operable by the movement of said reversing bar andremote means for operating said reversing bar.

ALBERT EDWARD SPOONER.

